MCZ boundaries proposed…
11 December 2014

Northern Ireland coastal habitats for marine life may get vital protection

Three of Northern Ireland’s hotspots for marine life have been put forward for protection as Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs).

The Department of the Environment has drawn up boundaries for MCZs at
Rathlin, Outer Belfast Lough and Carlingford Lough – where commercial
activity could be permitted but the main focus will be conservation.

Designating
these hotspots will mean added protection for black guillemots on
Rathlin, fragile sea pen communities in Carlingford Lough and colonies
of quahog, a long–lived clam, in Belfast Lough.

It follows on from the designation of Strangford Lough as Northern Ireland’s first MCZ last year.

The
DoE is also investigating sites at Outer Ards, the Maidens, Foyle and
Dundrum as potential MCZs, but has dropped Larne Lough because the black
guillemots it harbours are already included in the Rathlin MCZ.

It
will also look at Ardglass Gullies and Redbay seagrass beds after these
were nominated by wildlife organisations, but has refused to include
Islandmagee. The Co Antrim peninsula is home to important seabird
colonies at the Isle of Muck and the Gobbins.

The DoE said it intends to establish an ecologically
coherent network of sites by December 2016, but sites such as Lough
Foyle are unlikely to be designated by then due to “jurisdictional
issues”.

Wildlife organisations have warned that sufficient budgets must be provided for the MCZs to be more than “paper parks”.

Welcoming
the plans, the Northern Ireland Marine Task Force (NIMTF), a coalition
of environmental groups, said designating the sites will be a
significant step towards the protection of important marine species and
habitats for Northern Ireland.